SMWS Outturn April 2024 goes live on Friday 5th April 2024
Flavour Invasion – The Scotch Malt Whisky Society releases (outturn) several single cask bottlings of Scotch, Whisk(e)y, Rum and Gin, to name a few, usually on the first Friday of every month.
See below the full list of bottles being released for the April 2024 outturn. If you are not a member, Don’t worry you can join the SMWS here but be quick several of the bottlings sell out as quickly as the day they are released.
(Here is a quick link to last month’s SMWS Outturn: SMWS March 2024 outturn).
Flavour Invasion April 2024 Outturn bottles:
35.387 – Molecular Gastronomy
55.4% ~ 1st Fill Ex-PX Hogshead ~ 32yo ~ Speyside ~ £450.00
We entered into a molecular gastronomy experience; the welcome drink was a test tube combining orange liqueur, pink peppercorn, smoked mince pie, birch sap, spiced mead and blackcurrant. Both the nose and the palate were full of sweet fruit and savoury spice. Water offered new discoveries, with wheatgrass pancakes enveloping cherrywood-smoked apricots and apple on the nose, calvados-spiked cola cubes and chewing tobacco on the palate, with a coulis of wild berries and ice cream to finish…. read more
36.201 – Glazed with Marmalade
59.7% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 16yo ~ Speyside ~ £92.00
A sweet-savoury treat, as rapeseed oil was applied to an old leather belt, alongside alum block, refried beans and lemon drizzle cake. The palate offered poppyseed bagels and charred steak glazed with marmalade and caramel. Water brought forward raisin, vanilla pods and a balsamic glaze on the nose, while the palate became chewy, with fudge, sultanas and fig syrup joining honey and hickory barbecue sauce… read more
39.168 – All’s Well That Ends Well
59.1% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 8yo ~ Speyside ~ £50.00
A sweet, malty, musky perfumed and oriental woody aroma joined by a very boozy apple pie and a mug of gunfire (black tea with rum) made us a little mindful before tasting it neat, and rightly so. The ferocious attack blew our minds – Naga chilli peanuts, hot, spicy, and salty! There is some sweetness somewhere maybe of a pepper spiced chocolate mousse. After we added water everything, indeed everyone, calmed down. Indian lime pickle, spiced plum chutney and gorse flower cordial…. read more
39.260 – Marzipan Marmalade
62.3% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 10yo ~ Speyside ~ £64.20
Delightful aromas of almond croissants, digestive biscuits and vanilla combined with burnt toffee coated with custard powder, lemon sherbet and fine oak sawdust. The palate was sweet and juicy, an amalgamation of ripe orange, candied lemon and sticky ginger wine, before coconut merged with pineapple and banana in a milkshake. With a few drops of water perfumed aromas of apple orchards and lavender bushes emerged alongside marmalade, pine nut oil and lime skin…. read more
41.170 – Pure Exuberance
58.2% ~ 1st Ex-Oloroso Hosghead ~ 17yo ~ Speyside ~ £100.00
The exuberant aroma ranged from yeast extract on burnt toast and spicy gingerbread cookies to a full-bodied shiraz and, finally, beef jerky. On the palate, a Hungarian wild boar goulash with port came accompanied by carrots, cranberries, Szechuan pepper and full-fat sour cream. After the addition of water, the nose had noticeably mellowed, and we got brown sugar and mustard-glazed ham as well as grilled venison backstrap with a cherry-bourbon sauce…. read more
44.179 – Christmas on the Beach
58.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 18yo ~ Speyside ~ £126.50
On the nose we found jammy fruits, nuts and candle wax mixed with wet paint and cream.?The palate gave us Christmas: cinnamon, oranges, cloves and chocolate, with ground pepper and chilli flakes.?Diluted, its nose said summer, wafting warm car seats and sun cream, but still heavy with chocolate and nuts, plus roast venison and the smell of old books.?On the palate, Christmas took a back seat while honey and vanilla burst forth with tropical flowers, lime cordial, saffron hints and summer bonfires… read more
48.138 – Sweet Memories on Deserted Beaches
52.2% ~ Re-Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead ~ 12yo ~ Speyside ~ £69.00
Sweet memories of walking for hours on deserted beaches, the cool sea breeze touching our warm cheeks as we share a bag of saltwater taffy. We then took a rest, wind sheltered by dunes, and opened a flask of peppermint tea and a Tupperware container of slightly sweet baked crispy kale as well as unfolded banana bread wrapped in silver foil. After a surprising short downpour water released a fresh minty aroma, foamy bananas and marshmallows while the taste was now that of Dutch stroopwafels… read more
66.245 – F1 Racetrack Barbecue
58.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 15yo ~ Highland ~ £98.00
After 12 years in ex-bourbon wood, we introduced this to a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead. The nose had sherry and peat smoke, maple syrup, balsamic and charred wood; then Fiorentina steak cooked over charcoal. The powerful palate had good sweetness (cherry cola syrup, sticky toffee pudding, ice cream) linked with an after-dinner cigar box and leather armchair moment. The reduced nose evoked barbecue smells at a formula one racetrack followed by plums cooked with muscovado and cloves… read more
68.121 – Sunseeker
55.9% ~ 1st Fill Ex-PX Barrique ~ 15yo ~ Highland ~ £95.00
We were transported to the region of Montilla-Moriles in Andalucia where we laid grapes on straw mats to dry in the sun, referred to as the soleo process. The taste was full-on, like drawing a glass of sweet wine from a cask in a damp cellar with a distinct dry, fruity spiciness of acacia, apricots and plums. After reduction we made an ancient bread named after the word sun in Arabic. It is literally baked in the heat of the sun due to the absence of ovens in the pharaonic period… read more
80.48 – Doors to Manual and Cross Check
57.9% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead ~ 11yo ~ Speyside ~ £60.00
Our hosts welcomed us on board with croissants filled with almond paste, covered in icing sugar and presented on a hay bale. A touch of turpentine in the air was joined by the fresh linen on the headrest. To the palate, coffee danced with toffee sauce laced with dark chocolate, a touch of nutmeg, grapefruit and lemon peel. Water transported our nose on to the aeroplane’s first flight of the day; a cold cabin, waxy leather seats, new carpet and a steaming teapot… read more
95.95 – Peppery, Zingy and Cooling
60.5% ~ 2ns Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 10yo ~ Speyside ~ £70.00
We entered a flower shop where plenty of bouquets for that day’s weddings were being prepared before we had, in the back room, a scoop of buttermilk, brown sugar and rye bread ice cream. On the palate, we certainly climbed the Scoville scale with a sweet chestnut puree and plenty, and we mean plenty, of spice. Following that surprise we added water, and the gentle scent of sweet cicely surrounded us as we foraged for boysenberries…read more
A4.8 – Classic Cherry Clafoutis
50.2% ~ Refill Gascon Black Oak Barrel ~ Bas Armagnac – Baco ~ £80.00
A potpourri of aromas greeted the Panel – cherry chocolate fondant, powder puffs, cinnamon, white pepper, ginger, mace and resinous wood. On the palate that variety carried on seamlessly, with elegant flavours from pure pressed white grape juice, honeydew melon and dried rose petals to an aromatic and lightly spiced Italian liqueur, blending bergamot peel, chamomile, lavender, gentian and lemon balm. Water added a fruity sweetness in the form of strawberry bonbons… read more
B4.11 – Like a Grown Up in a Candy Store
61.1% ~ #3 Char New Oak Barrel ~ USA ~ £75.00
Like most celebrations, it all started in a mature and grown-up fashion with fresh fennel, dill and coriander seeds leading to the acquired bitterness of pine sap, then ginger, nutmeg and dried pineapple. After a few sips, however, we rapidly reverted to our childhood as tutti frutti bubblegum merged with banana foam sweets, peardrops and aniseed balls, all washed down with cherry cola. A dash of water did little to dampen the sugar high as our sticky mitts reached for jars of fruit jellies, jelly beans… read more
G15.19 – Sweet Shop on the Beach
63.2% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 8yo ~ Highland ~ £50.00
Spring time, walking through the sea buckthorn tunnel to the beach in East Lothian, munching digestive biscuits – the sea breeze hits you on its way to the fields of green barley; that’s the nose. The palate combines lemon barley sugars and citric peel with custard creams, leaving a finish of ginger, cinnamon and cask char. A drop of water livens up the nose – opening a sweetie shop door to toffee, lemon bonbons and fizzy sherbet lemons… read more
GN1.15 – A Soothing Sorbet
48.6% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Tennessee Whisky Barrel ~ Glasgow ~ £58.00
Well all agreed this one possessed a super-fresh aroma that included citronella candles, lemon sorbet and citrus-scented washing powders. There was also crushed coriander and various wee aromas of jasmine and citrus peels in honey. Water made it grassier but maintained the overall freshness, with more citrus and muddled green herbs. The neat palate was soft and velvety with pure juniper, glazed orange segments, bergamot and a tiny medicinal streak… read more
R2.18 – Sticky Spice Cake
58.7% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 18yo ~ Guyana ~ £85.00
Sticky fruits tumbled towards us like an avalanche of mangos in syrup, strawberry jelly and pineapple marinated with cloves and star anise. Further spice followed as pink pickled ginger tingled alongside Chinese five-spice before sweet marzipan and melted vanilla ice cream suggested desserts. The palate arrived with the massive sweetness of cola cubes, demerara sugar and treacle that mixed with candied orange, strawberries and mint in a large mixing bowl. With water, the sugars had caramelised into molasses and burnt butter that coated pink wafer biscuits… read more
Cask No. Distillery 12 Rare Release – Heritage Puddings Follow Breakfast
58.4% ~ 2nd Fill & New Oak Bourbon & HTMC Barrels ~ 10yo ~ Speyside ~ £65.00
As chef presented us with honey nut cornflakes crowned with kumquat and molasses, we finished dipping bacon-wrapped croissants in wheat beer. On the palate, cinnamon toffee apples were served with farmhouse cider, a pecan danish and toasted coconut chips dipped in chocolate, all washed down with a glass of apple juice. Water offered a rustic nose, evocative of heritage puddings swimming in condensed milk and topped with chantilly cream… read more
Cask No. Distillery 39 Rare Release – Cross-Atlantic Destinations
58.4% ~ Re-Fill & 1st Fill Bourbon, Oloroso & PX & Hogsheads ~ 15yo ~ Speyside ~ £90.00
A new pair of leather sandals baked in the heat of the sand on a sun-drenched beach in the Algarve. The whisp of wild fennel, limestone and thyme drifted in the air. The palate took us to the other side of the Atlantic, slicing into a Jamaican ginger cake topped with candied rose petals and toffee, raspberry jam and browned butter. Water pulled the toffee forward and introduced jasmine alongside dark brown sugar on the nose. A gentle oak spice underlined the palate now, complemented by blackcurrants and cocoa powder, chewy pretzels and crème pâtissière… read more
Cask No. Speyside Batch 2024 – The Writing Bureau
53.1% ~ 2nd Fill Bourbon Barrels ~ 30yo ~ Speyside ~ £175.00
Our eyes danced across an old writing bureau, the shine from its green leather-topped desk being casually absorbed by the woodwork’s patina. On the nose, lime zest was woven into honeydew melon, joined by a puff of sherbet and the arrival of polished antique furniture. The palate was intense, full of waxy apples and pears, creamed coconut, quince paste and spiced witbier. A trickle of water pulled forward lime pastilles and elderflower as we walked into a botanical garden’s hothouse. It is here we write our best stanzas. The palate was custard tart, cubes of Turkish delight and pears… read more
Cask No. Distillery 85 Rare Release – Freeform Jazz
57.5% ~ Re-Fill & 1st Fill Bourbon & Spanish Oak Oloroso Hogsheads ~ 15yo ~ Speyside ~ £90.00
Using burnt twigs we stirred coal tar and beech wood-smoked nectarines into a medicinal potion of chamomile and syrup. Then to the mix came figs infused with hickory smoke, sweet mustard and orange segments, before in went barbecued brisket to simmer. A dash of water caused the flames from burning heather to tickle the rind of bacon dipped in treacle as the skin of juicy pineapples bubbled and popped. Our attention now turned to sticky ginger cake and walnuts in brioche buns, fresh from the oven and finished with bramble jam, coffee beans and sprigs of thyme. The starting point for this small batch was two bourbon hogsheads of single malt Scotch whisky… read more
Cask No. Distillery 48 Rare Release – Tawny Garibaldi
49.8% ~ Re-Fill & 1st Fill Bourbon & American Oak PX Hogsheads ~ 14yo ~ Speyside ~ £85.00
We walked through the deep, dark forest, stepping over moss-covered tree roots and troupes of wood mushrooms. As the wind whispered through the dense evergreens, the aroma of steamed raisin pudding with a tawny port wine sauce emerged. We followed our noses and found a little gingerbread house with vanilla-based frosting, supported by tonka beans, cinnamon sticks and garibaldi biscuits. When we added a couple of drops of water the scent of chocolate-coated dark red cherries flirting with turrón ice cream and PX raisins dominated, while on the palate we enjoyed blueberries freshly picked from the woodland… read more